Its' Broken!

Hello everyone,

When Nate took an awkward fall coming off the slide a couple of weeks ago we knew something had happened because he cried hard for a long time. Nate usually cries a little bit and then gets over whatever was going on. When after a day and a half Nate was still complaining of pain we took him to the ER to get checked. They took an x-ray but did not see any fracture. However, the doctor told us that if symptoms persisted that we should follow up with a pediatric orthopedist.

Over the next few days Nate told us the pain was gone. Still, when he was walking and especially when he was running Nate would turn his injured left foot inward. I knew this was not a good sign. We called and got the first available appointment with a pediatric orthopedist which was last Thursday. A resident doctor examined Nate and then the orthopedist examined Nate. There was no pain but the orthopedist still wanted to do another set of x-rays. This new set of x-rays revealed that Nate had broken his first metatarsal. The fracture had already begun to heal but the doctor wanted Nate to be in a cast for three weeks. He should get the cast off April 1st. He has done well. However, the novelty had worn off by the end of the first night when he said, “I want to take this off.” It appears the "itching" has begun becuase Nate said this morning that "an ant" had gotten into his cast. We will be putting up a calendar so he can count off the days until it is removed.

Many of you know that our original plans called for our departure to Latvia on April 3rd. As of now we are officially on “Medical Hold”. After discussing this with the IMB Medical Department and the doctor’s office it looks like we should be able to leave on April 9th. We have asked that the orthopedist call the head of the Medical Department here tomorrow. We should have know as to whether or not we can receive preliminary clearance after that.

Please pray for quick complete healing of Nate’s foot. Also pray that we will be able to make an important meeting that has been scheduled in Riga April 12th through 14th.

As always, we are grateful for your prayer support!

Seeking to serve,

Paul